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Review of Buckets by University of Northampton BA Actors at Royal & Derngate (Royal), Northampton

The second of the two University of Northampton shows performed in the Royal for 2022 by the BA Actors was Buckets by Adam Barnard, and it was a much more entertaining, cleaner and better-performed show than The Gut Girls the day before.

Erin Jones
Barnard’s Buckets takes the form of thirty-three interconnected scenes revolving around the loose link of “buckets” be they sick buckets, bucket lists or a bit of charity bucket shaking, the scenes weave and meander with occasionally recurring characters and situations. It is very similar to other plays performed by the BA Actors of the past, including perhaps most obviously Love + Information, and as with such a format, it is also perfect for the University actors to perform.

Sam Day
It is a delightfully delivered play, with strong performances and characterisation across the board from all the performers. I particular liked Erin Jones’ loving mother, tasked with dealing with the eventual death of her daughter, and it was great to have this poignant character crossover into the much more comedic “Kiss Me” sequences, which saw Sam Day’s character in constant attempts to get ladies to kiss him. Hugely entertaining. Owain Hedd in several scenes makes a great impact, showing the best quality in comedy situations and he also has a distinctive look which might take him far.

Carly May
The contrast in scenes was excellent, weaving from full comedy to sadness and each of the scenes was really well balanced lengthwise, never outstaying their welcome. One particular scene towards the end was immensely powerful as Carly May’s character filmed on her phone on a train platform what was likely to be her final moments, were it not for the arrival Neyha Solanki as a would-be thief. While there was a huge power in the poignancy of this scene, writer Barnard also adds much subtle humour and May and Solanki are excellent in it.

Carly May
The play takes place on a set of playground equipment and a park bench and the simple set offers its pros and cons, slightly irritating is the constant head ducking under the slide for the performers, particularly for the ever-present observer and scene changer Crystal Liu. It might seem churlish to comment on this, but it interferes with the swift scene changing, and I felt, a better position of the set might have lessened this impact. The set does however provide several perfect backdrops for each of the short scenes.

However, whatever criticism is placed on Buckets, it is minor, as this is very much the BA Actors of Northampton, doing what they do best, nice stage presence, confident performances and the effective telling of a clever and very entertaining play. Excellent stuff.

Entertaining and well performed, this is every bit the BA Actors at their best.
⭐⭐⭐⭐½

Performance reviewed: Friday 13th May 2022 at the Royal & Derngate (Royal), Northampton.
Buckets ran at Royal & Derngate until Saturday 14th May 2022.

Buckets was presented by final year actors at the University of Northampton

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